ESL systems typically include a plurality of ESLs for each merchandise item in a store. ESLs display the price of corresponding merchandise items on store shelves and are typically attached to a rail along the leading edge of the shelves. A store may contain thousands of ESLs to display the prices of the merchandise items. The ESLs are coupled to a central server where information about the ESLs is typically maintained in an ESL data file which contains ESL identification information and ESL merchandise item information. The central server sends messages, including register update messages, to the ESLs.
Many operations which involve ESLs are periodic in nature, recurring again and again at predetermined times. For example, a retail establishment may want to perform a bedcheck of all the store's ESLs every evening to verify that each ESL is displaying the correct information. Typical prior ESL systems could not provide such a capability without a client application specifically issuing a request for such a transaction again and again each time the transaction is desired to occur. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an ESL system and method that provides for an ESL manager which allows a single request to cause recurring transactions to be scheduled and executed at specified intervals.